PALM BEACH, Fla. — Sure, Dan Campbell was upset. How couldn’t he be? Detroit’s storybook 15-win regular season ended abruptly with an early playoff exit. However, in the wake of that shocking NFC divisional round loss to the Washington Commanders, the Detroit Lions head coach didn’t allow himself to sulk for too long.

It was back to work as the Lions entered this offseason with a plan. And the plan was to keep their core intact. Hence, why they didn’t move on any splashy signings or trades that some fans may have hoped for when the new league year began last month.

“You go right into it. You don’t have time to really digest all those things — the last game,” Campbell said during the annual league meetings. “What I do know is that you have to be careful. If you say, if you come out of it and say, ‘Man, what’s wrong? What’s wrong with us?’ We did it right. We had 15 wins. End of season.

“We played bad at the wrong time. Careful tweaking things, what you got is good enough. We just got to play better in that moment. But it also means we can’t stay the same. We all know that. That’s not good for anybody.”

Detroit prioritized re-signing the players that were the best fits, such as defensive end Marcus Davenport, linebacker Derrick Barnes, defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike and wide receiver Tim Patrick.

Additionally, they did bring in former New York Jets cornerback D.J. Reed on a three-year, $48 million deal to replace Carlton Davis III, who agreed to a new, three-year, $60 million contract with the New England Patriots.

But other than that, the band is back from the 2024 season, and they feel good about that and their Super Bowl chances in 2025 and beyond.

“Look, I’m more than happy with how free agency went and I say more than happy because we were able to get guys that we really wanted to get,” Lions general manager Brad Holmes also said during the annual league meetings. “That’s always the case. Like, we don’t compromise and get a prospect that we’re warm on, so happy with that. But more than happy because we actually were able to do more than what I thought we were actually gonna be able to do heading into it.”

Financially, Holmes didn’t anticipate the Lions being big spenders entering free agency. He had his sights set on the cornerback options, which were expensive, but says he was surprised with how much they were able to accomplish considering they’re budgeting for upcoming extensions with All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph and star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson. They’re also planning to exercise the fifth-year option for wide receiver Jameson Williams.

“You have financial responsibilities. You have a mortgage, or your kid’s college fund, your 529, your insurance you have to pay. You know you have to pay those things, but that might require you can’t take the vacation you really want right now, this summer. So, that’s kind of where we are right now,” Holmes said, “is that we have so many of these young players that have been on rookie deals. And we’ve been kind of enjoying that impact that they’ve all been bringing but now a bill is coming and what you spend this year, it’s gonna impact next year and it even impacts 2027.

“So, that’s the discipline that we have to adhere to.”

Holmes and Campbell have been on the same page all along from early in the offseason process with who they want to re-sign internally and externally in free agency. At this point, the remaining free agent options would mainly be for depth purposes, and overall competition across the board. They will look to the upcoming draft to address any other team needs.

The Lions currently have the 28th overall pick in the first round of the draft and historically, under the current Lions regime, they’ve grown an affinity for keeping their own guys around for long-term deals.

“Look, there’s a reason why we draft the guys that we do. It’s because they fit us. The hardest thing about free agency is not knowing guys. You don’t have a history with them,” Campbell said. “You don’t know how they are when they have an injury or how it pertains to practicing, what they’re like after losses, what they’re like after wins, what they’re like when they do something wrong and you get after them. All these things.

“But your guys that you pick and drafted for a reason, you’re with them three, four, five (years). That’s huge. That’s huge,” he said. “So absolutely we’re going to sign those guys back. They’re us. They’re our guys, and so I think if anything, it just helps you see the future.”

Moving forward, the Lions are betting on better health and the development of their young talent already on the roster after being hit hard by the injury bug in 2024.

At one point in December, the Lions had a league-high 21 players on the injured reserve list, with 16 of those players being on defense — which was also the most in the NFL. They’re certainly hoping that last year’s injuries were an anomaly. The Lions are ready to pick up where they left off in 2025.

“We’re looking at all that stuff. The training staff. Do we need to dial back practices at different times later in the season?” said Lions president and CEO Rod Wood. “I’m really pushing (NFL VP of Broadcast Planning) Mike North to give us a mid-season bye this year so that we don’t have to play 14 games in a row without a break. So, there’s all those kind of things that we’re looking at.”